The bait and switch in Hong Kong is notorious as a tactic to scam shoppers and although the scam is not as widely used as the media sometimes does, buyers to Hong Kong should be aware of the bait and trade. change.
What is the bait and switch?
Bait and switch basically involves the store offering a product at a very low price and then substituting or exchanging that product for a lower one.
In Hong Kong, the scam can occur in two ways, and generally involves electronic items or photographic equipment.
- 1. The customer agrees to buy an advertised product at an incredibly low price. The customer pays for the product when the assistant suddenly discovers that the store is sold out. Instead, they offer the customer a replacement product at an equally low price. The ‘replacement’ product is actually of significantly less value. Alternatively, the sales assistant can sell the original product at the agreed price, but it will be supplied without cables, drivers, etc., which are then sold to the customer at inflated prices.How to avoid:It may seem easy to avoid this bait and change tactics, and it is true that it is based on using your own judgment, but Hong Kong sellers can exert strong pressure on customers to buy a product to the point of being aggressive. The fact that the store staff only speak Cantonese also means that the English-speaking customers do not fully understand what is going on. If you feel pressured in a store, you should go. The stores most guilty of this tactic are the electronics stores along Nathan Road, which should be avoided entirely.
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- 2. The customer agrees to buy a product, say a DV100 digital camera. The sales assistant enters the warehouse to pick up the product and arrives with a DV100 box, however, the sales assistant has exchanged the DV100 camera for a DV90 in the warehouse. The box is real, so the customer only realizes when he returns home that the product he paid for is not the product he received. The store has a no-return policy. How to avoid it: If staff need to go to the warehouse to retrieve your product and it is not in sight, be sure to check the contents of the box on your return.
- Remember, never pay for a product, until you have the exact product you want in your hands. Bait and switch shops operate with strict no-refund policies and once you hand over your money, it can be very difficult to get it back.
- Hong Kong has poor protection for bait and switch victims, but if you feel you have been a victim of the scam, you should contact the Hong Kong Consumer Council. If you are a victim of the second bait and the switch tactic, you can also contact the Hong Kong Police at that time. The police are helpful and know very well the stores involved in this practice. Contact the Tsim Sha Tsui Police at 2678 2887.
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